Trigger mechanism



arch 12, 1946. J. G. 55312 2,396,291

TRIGGER MECHANISM Filed Dec. 13, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR, J'omv G. 5517::

A T TORNEYS.

Ma rch 12, 1946. J56. saw v 2,396,291

TRIGGER MECHANISM Filed Dec. 13, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR,

JoHN G. 35172 BY W/Zwm M Patented Mar. 12, 1946 'EES PAT T FEQE 2,396,291 TRIGGER moinmsir John G. Seitz, San Francisco, Calif.; a'ssign'or to Samuel 1'. Keene, San Francisco, Calif.

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a trigger mechanism for firearms, and has for one of its objects the provision of a trigger mechanism having means cooperatively associated therewith for quickly and easily varying the point in the oscillatory path of travel of the trigger at which the cocked cocking piece may be released.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a trigger mechanism having means for quickly and easily changing the characteristic of the trigger from one that is subjected to a prolonged frictional resistance before releasing the cooked cocking piece to one that is not subjected to such resistance and vice versa.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a trigger mechanism having means for quickly and easily changing the type of the trigger from one that effects a release of a cocked cocking piece during the retractive movement of the trigger to one that causes such release during the movement of the trigger from a fully retracted position to its normal forward position, and which mechanism further provides for changing the point during oscillatory movement of the trigger in one direction atwhich the said cocking piece is released.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved safety device associated with a convertibletrigger mechanism for manipulation and operation in a manner that makes accidental actuation of the said device from a safety to an on position or vice versa, practically impossible, and which safety device, when in the on position continues to function as a safety device when the trigger mechanism is adjusted for release firing, except when said device isactuated by the normal gripping pressure of one of thefingers of the hand that carries the trigger finger. However, a release of such pressure by such finger at any time prior to the release of the cooked cocking piece will render the trigger inoperative for effecting such release.

In my co-pending application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 508,173, filed November 3, 1943, I show one means for converting a trigger mechanism from compression to release type of firing. By compression firing I mean the conventional type wherein the cooked cocking piece (hammer, bolt, firing pin, etc.) is released during retractive movement of the-trigger, while by release firing I mean the type wherein the cooked cocking piece is released during the return travel of the trigger from a fully retracted posias} its normal forward position-under spring tension;

Among users of s'm'all firearms there exist differences that have Y heretofore compelled such users to employ expert gunsmiths to modify standard structure. Most users that have tried the rele'ase" type of trigger mechanism have a preference'for that type, bu' t long custom and the heretofore unavailability of the release type of mechanism "resulted in most users being acquainted with the compression type of trigger mechanism. These latter users are divided into two schools. One practices the slow trigger squeeze method whereby the user is not supposed to give consideration to the moment at which the movement of the trigger will release the cocking piece, and the other school advocates the use of a hair trigger or a slight modification thereof. My improved trigger mechanism provides a firearm that is almost instantly convertible to fulfill the requirements 'of an advocate of any one of the aforesaid schools, and which mechanism also provides for slight play of the trigger between fully retracted position and forward movement thereof before the cooked cocking piece is released when said mechanism is set for release firing. By slight play or movement, I do not mean that the trigger is loose, but instead, I mean that the trigger may slightly be oscillated under alternate influence of a spring urging it forward and application of a superior retracting pressure by the trigger finger adjacent the'iully retracted'position of the trigger without causing a release-of the cocking piece. This degree of oscillation is preferably no greater than about the thickness of a silver dollar or about a tenth of an inch' or from .05 inch to about .1' inch. Anything substantially outside the above range is not wholly desirable for neurological, physiological and psychological reasons that have been established.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and drawings;

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is "a fragmentary side elevational view of the breech portion of a 1903 Model U. S. Springfield rifle showing in elevation the manual controls for converting'the rifle for different types of firing-,and for safe ty.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically through the breech portion of Fig. l longitudinally of the latter, certain parts being indicated in elevation for clarity.' a

Fig. 3 isa fragmentarypart sectional and part elevational view of the trigger mechanism arranged for release firing, and showing the trig ger fully retracted preparatory to its forward movement and for causing a release of the cocked cocking piece.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary part sectional, part elevational View of the trigger mechanism converted for compression firing of the crisp or modified hair trigger type.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View showing the safety device adapted to render the trigger mechanism inoperative for release firing when the latter is locked in safety position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken along line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 'l'! of Fig, 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a recessed able adjusting disk.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9--9 of Fig. 1. V

Fig- 10 is a fragmentary sectional View showing one of the positions of the sear releasing mechanism.

The conventional 1903 Model U. S. Springfield rifle is shown in the drawings for the purpose of illustrating my invention. Such rifle is provided with a stock I, cocking piece 2, safety lock thumb piece 3, bolt 4, magazine 5 and bolt handle 6 for manipulating the bolt. These elements are unchanged. V

A trigger 1 extends from within the guard bow B into the chamber 9 thereabove, which chamber encloses the trigger mechanism that connects the trigger With the cooking piece. This chamber 9 is defined by a forward wall N] that is the rear wall of magazine 5, and by an upper wall ll below the bolt 4 and the cooking piece. A rear wall I2 and opposed lateral side walls l3, l4 are formed by portions of the stock which is slotted to receive the magazine and trigger mechanism. The bottom wall constitutes extensions of the guard bow 8 and is slotted to pass the trigger.

The cocking piece 2 carries a rectangular block I5 rigid therewith that is formed with a sear notch It in its lower side for engagement with sear nose [1. Sear nose I! is formed on the rear end of sear l8. The use of the designations rear, forward, and the like, refer to positions with respect to the muzzle of the rifle, which is at the forward end.

The provision of 'a sear notch and a sear having a sear nose for engagement in the said notch to hold the cocking piece in cocked position is generally old. However in the conventional block formed with the sear notch, the underside slants upwardly in a rearward direction from a point just rear of the sear-notch. The underside of the block I5 is horizontal in direction extending away from the notch for a purpose later described more in detail.

The sear it is pivotally supported adjacent its forward end on a horizontal pivot I9, and a spiral spring positioned between pivot 19 and wall Ill reacts between the upper wall I l and a portion2| of the sear that projects slightly forwardly from pivot 18. This spring functions to yieldably urge the rear end of the sear, including said sear nose l1, upwardly. The upper wall II is formed with an opening for the sear nose and through which opening the latter is adapted to project for engagement in notch Hi When the cooking piece is retracted to cocked position. A downward swinging of the rear end of the sear so as to pull the sear nose out of notch I 6 will release the cooked cocking piece for firing a cartridge in the firearm. r I I '15 plate in the wooden stock for receiving a rotat- The trigger 1' is pivotally secured at its upper end within a slot in sear l8 by means of a horizontal pivot 22. This pivot supports the trigger for swinging of the latter about the horizontal axis of said pivot.

Between pivot 22 and the sear nose, and in the same slot in the sear in which the upper end of the trigger is positioned, is a generally vertically extending pin 23 that is reciprocable in an opening 22 (Fig. 10) in the trigger at a point between pivot 22 and the finger engaging portion of the trigger. A spiral spring 24 around pin 23 reacts .between head 25 of said pin and the portion of the trigger around the hole through which said pin extends foryieldably urging said head against 'wall I l of chamber 9. The trigger itself is onset rearwardly at the point through which the pin 23 extends so that the expansive force of the spring 24 will constantly urge the part of trigger i that projects into the trigger guard bow to a forward position in the latter. In this forward positionthe trigger is readyfor a retraction by the trigger finger, and as the trigger is so retracted, a progressively increased force isplaced on the sear tending to swing the sear nose downwardly out of engagement with the sear notch in the block l5.

Below pivot 23 a substantial distance is a horizontally elongated member 26 through which the trigger 1 extends, said member being slotted for said trigger, the slot being relatively long horizontall so as to permit appreciable oscillation of the trigger horizontally in said slot. The rear end of the member 26 is pivotally connected by a Divot 21 with the lower end of an arm 28 that extends upwardly from said pivot. This arm 28 is pivotally supported on a fixed pivot 29 near the upper end thereof and a projection 30 extends upwardly from pivot 29. This projection is formed on its forward side with a notch 3| providing an upwardly facing shoulder that is adapted to engage under a projection 32 on the rear end of sear l8. A torsion'spring 33 carried on a pin 34 reacts at one of its ends against the rear side of projection 30 for yieldably urging the portion of the arm below pivot 29against a transversely extending pin 35 that rotatably extends through fixed, spaced, opposed side members 36 secured in chamber 9. These side members also support the ends of pivots 21, 29.

Around pivot 21 is a torsion spring 31 having its opposite ends in engagement with the lower end of arm 28 and with the member 26, said spring being arranged and adapted to yieldably tend to urge the forward end of member 26 downwardly.

The sides of the member 26 are each similarly formed with a horizontal slot 40 where they extend past the trigger, and the lower side of each slotis formed with a recess 4| opening into slot 40, and which recess thus provides a forwardly facing rear edge along one side thereof in the member 26. r

The forward closed'end of member 26 is slotted and the bottom of the slot is inclined rearwardly and upwardly from the lower edge thereof as indicated at 42 (Fig. 2). This slot in the forward end of said member opens forwardly and is adapted to receive therein a rearwardly projecting pin 43 that is secured rigidly on a downwardly extending projection that is on the forwardly projecting part 2| of sear l8. 1

The rear end of member 26 carries an upwardly projecting member 44 that is pivoted on said member by a pivot 45, said member being adapted to: roclc. on said. pivot. forwardly; and rearwardly,

but isvyieldably held in theforward position We. spiralspring 46". that reacts between the; bottom'.

of saidmember at a. point rearwardly: of pivot 45 and the member 26.

Below the rear end: of member 26 and at. a. point forwardly of the position. of. pivot 21: is a cross bar. Gthat is yieldablysupported for verticalt cal. swinging of the rear end thereof.. A spiral. spring 54 reacts 'between 'the bottom. of chamber 9. andanextension of said leverthat projectsfor wardly. of said pivot 53 to tend. to always urge the; rear end of said lever downwardly. Also,

the leven is horizontally slotted for said pivot 53;.

whereby the lever may be moved longitudinally on saidzpivot.

The rear end of lever 52 extends downwardly through an opening in a rear. extension 55' of the trigger guardbow, andis formed with a rear.- wardly extending lip 56 that is relatively short and which lip normally projectsbelow said extension 55 in a position to be forced upwardly flush with said extension when thehand of: the operator grasps the stock with the trigger finger engaging the trigger I. of. said hand will engage said lip, and ordinarily ina normal hand, this will be the middle finger that can easily be extended to free the lip for downwardmovement of the rear end of the lever.

52 without releasing the gripon the stock by. the other fingers.

The lever 52 is slotted to pass the trigger 1, the

channel member 5! extending between the sides of such slot, and the side members 36 thatcarry pivots 2T, 29 are joined at their lower ends and the.

portion so connected also extends through the slot-in: lever 52 to connect with the bottom. of: chamber 9.

The rear side of the guard bow 8 at about its. 4

juncture with the portion thereof. that forms the bottom of chamber 9, is slightly thickened, andis' transversely drilled to rotatably support therein a hollow sleeve 50 (Fig. 6). One endv of sleeve 60 carries a lever 5! that extends upwardly along-- side the stock adjacent the trigger guard bow.

This sleeve, as seen in Fig. '7, is formed in one side'thereof with a generally Z-shaped slot except that the leg connecting the head and foot portions 52, 63 is perpendicular to the latter. A- shaft 64 is reciprocable within sleeve 60 and projects from the ends-of the latter, one projecting end portion being designated 55 and the other 66..

A pin 57. projects from one side of said shaft through the slot formed in sleeve 60, and. in the side ofshaft 64 opposite pin 61 is a row of recesses 58: adapted to frictionally receive a spring urged detent 69 (Fig. 6). This detent andthe recesses are respectively formed to permit longitudinalreciprocation of shaft 65, but to. frictionally hold. said shaft in adjusted position, and the end of. the. pin outwardly of sleeve 6|] projects into a.

slot 10 in the upper part of the bow guard (Figs; 2, 6.) that prevents rotation of said shaft in any position whilepermitting said longitudinal move ment.

On lever BI and adjacent to but spaced oversleeve 65 is a projection H that extends parallel is: of. sufiicient size. topermit considerable move.- mentof said projectionalongitudinally of lever 52 when the lever BI" is rotated. This distance is:

suflicient to-move lever 52 forward when lever'6 I is moved forwardly, and to move lever. 52 rearwardly' when lever 5| is moved rearwardly. In.

the rearward position the lever 6| will have ca-rried'theprojection H a sufiicient distance to move the lip 56 on lever 52 to a position extending below the imperforate portion of. the extension 55: (Fig 5) thus blocking upward movement of; the.-

lever' 52.

Referring back to the pin 35 against which the lower portion of arm 28 is yieldably held: The sec.- tion of. said pin that engages arm 28 also functions as acam, having a low flat side 80, and a. high side8l and an intermediate flat side 82 thatis spacedfrom the central axisof the pin a distance that is between the longer distance that-- the high side 8! is spaced therefrom and the distance that the lower side is spaced from theaxis (Figs. 3, 4).

One end of saidpin carries a disk 84 (Fig. l) that-is rotatably fitted in a recess formed in a plate 85secured in one of the outer sides of the stock. This disk 84 carries a transversely extending. element BGprojectingfrom the outer side of said disk, which element is easily grasped by the. fingers of an operator for turning the disk-,.

thereby. rotatingthe pin 35 to bring one of the several cam surfaces 82, BI, 82 against arm 28. On

the plate .BB-adjacent the periphery of disk 84 are three spaced marks 81, 8B, 89. When links 90 on element 86 is substantially aligned with mark. 8], as in Fig. 1, the low. side of the cam on.

pin35 is against arm 28, and in this position the member 44 on the rear end of member 25 is spaced rearwardly of the main body of sear l 8 so as to be spaced below the rearwardly extending projection.

32 on said sear. Thus the member 44v performs no function in this position when the various parts are arranged as in Fig. 2 irrespective of how trigger I i actuated.

When the disk 84 is rotated to bring line 90 in.

alignment with the mark 88 (Fig. 10), the intermediate face 82 of the cam section of pin 35 will engage arm 28, and the member 26 will be moved forwardly sufficient to just bring enough of member 44' under the rear end portion 92 of sear [8,. and in this position a shoulder 93 on the rear side of the trigger I will' engage under the forward side 94 of member 44 to cause rotation of the upper end of said member rearwardly when the trigger is retractedisufiiciently to cause engagement between said forward underside 94 and said shoulder 93. Also when the member 26 is moved forwardly by said rotation of the cam on pin 35, the notch 3| is moved rearwardly out of engaging relation. with the projection 32 of the sear, whereas when the low side 80 of the cam engaged. arm 28, thesaid projection 32 was held in said'notch. Whenline 90 and mark 88 are in alignment avery slight movement of the member 44 by the trigger shoulider 93 will free the member from engagement with the sear, thereby freeing the sear for downward movement and a release of the sear nose from the sear notch, thus releasing the cocking piece.

When disk 84 is rotated to bring line 99 into alignment with mark 89, the h gh side of the cam.

on pin 35 willbe againstarm 28, thus moving the "member" 26 forwardly still more than when the This passageway-communicates with anupwardly:

52 and; between which legs;

The passageway through which projection ll extends:

side 82 engages said arm. Fig. 4 illustrates the position of the member 44 when the said mark 89 is aligned with line 93. In this position the member must be moved rearwardly a relatively longdistance before it clears the rear end 92 of the sear to permit release of the cocking piece 2.

In operation, when the disk 34 on pin 35 is rotated to bring line 99 on said disk into alignment with the mark 81 (Fig. 1), the parts of the trigger mechanism are as seen in Fig. 2, the cooking piece 2 being held in cocked position by the engagement of the sear nose I! in sear notch 16 of block [5. Upon retraction of the trigger l by the trigger finger to the position indicated in Fig. 3, a pin Hill on trigger 7 that extends into slot 48 of member 25 will be carried rear-wardly in said slot until it reaches the recess 4|. This recess opens upwardly into slot 60, and the upward force of member 50 against member 26 when lip 55 on lever 52 is gripped to stock I causes the member 26 to be yieldably swung upwardly about pivot 27 against the force of spring 31. The arrival of pin it at said recess will result in such upward swinging and said pin will then be in the said recess as indicated in Fig. 3,

Upon the aforesaid retraction of the trigger I, the normal position of the middle finger of the hand that carries the trigger finger would be in gripping relation to the lip 56 of lever 52, thus raising the lever and the cross bar 50 until the latter engages the under side of the member 26 at a point forwardly Of the pivot 21. The result ofthis is that the forward end of member 26 moved upwardl and is held in the position indicated in Fig. 3 and pin it!) is adapted to engage the rearwardly facing edges of recess 4| upon a release of trigger l for moving member 26 forwardly thereb withdrawing the upwardly facing shoulder of notch 31 from a position obstructing downward movement of sear I! under the expanding force of spring 24. If, however, the gripping pressure of the finger on lip 56 is released at any time before the projection 32 passes the notch 3|, the outer end of member 25 will be free to swing downwardly as the trigger is released, and the cocking piece will remain cocked. Thus should the operator desire to withhold firing after a retraction of the trigger, he merely releases the lip 56, and the trigger may then be safely released without firing the firearm.

The degree of engagement between the sear nose and the sear notch, and the relation between the various pivots and pins and elements of the trigger mechanism are such that after a full retraction of trigger l, the cooking piece will be released as soon as the trigger has moved forwardly toward its normal position about the thickness of a dime and preferably not more than about the thickness of a dollar. This is relatively important, since too short a distance of movement would produce in the operator an undesirable nervous tension, whereas too great a distance of movement would delay the release of the cocking piece beyond the point of maximum coordination between the nerves and the mental and physical facilities of the operator. The range of from about .05 of an inch to about .15 of an inch in the travel of the trigger from a fully retracted position toward its forward position beforethe cocking piece is released is satisfactory for the average user, although about .1 of an inch travel is preierred.

To convert the trigger mechanism to the compression firing type in which there is a modified hair triggerf action, the disk 84is rotated until the intermediate flat side 82 is against the lower end of arm. 28, in which position the line 9|] on said disk is aligned with the mark 88 and the member 86 will be in the dotted position indicated in Fig. 1. Y

, In this position (Fig. '10) the projection 32 on the rear end of. scar I8 is out of notch 3|, but instead, a fractional portion of the upwardly facingend of member 44 is under the rear lower corner 92 of the main body of the sear [8, hence until this member is moved from under the sear, the sear nose I1 will be in the sear notch 16.

.,'I'o.release the sear nose, the trigger l is retracted and this retraction will be resisted only by spring 24 until the shoulder 93 on the trigger engages the lower side 94 of the forward end of member 44. When this engagement occurs, there is, a noticeable increase in the resistance, and after this resistance is first noted, a very slight further retraction of the trigger will cause the upper end of member 44 to swing rearwardly about pivot 45 to thereby release the sear nose from the sear notch. The accumulated power in spring 24 will quickly pull the sear nose downwardly andout of the sear notch as soon as the member 44 is disengaged from the sear by the retraction of the trigger.

Where it is desirable to have a prolonged resistance to the withdrawal of the member 44 from its position holding the sear nose in the sear notch, the disk 84 is turned to the point where line is adjacent to mark 89 and in alignment with the latter. In this position the cam section of pin 35 is positioned as indicated in Fig. 4 in which the high side 8| of said section is against the lower end of arm 28. The member 44 is well under rear end 92 of sear is when the disk is in the above position.

The retraction of the trigger i for releasing the sear nose I! from the sear notch i8 is the same as when the trigger mechanism is set for providing a hair trigger action, except that a considerably longer travel of the trigger is required after its shoulder engages the member 44 for releasing the member from engagement with the sear. This longer travel is desirable for those that prefer to employ the conventional trigger squeeze method for firing the firearm, by which method the trigger is pulled slowly through a relatively long distance under a substantially uniform resistancebefore the point is reached where the cooking piece is released.

The usual safety lock thumb piece 3 may be used to lock the cocked cocking piece against release when the trigger mechanism is adjusted for compression firing. v

In order to lock the trigger mechanism from actuation when the same is adjusted for release firing, the lip 56 is released so as to assume the position indicated in Figs. 1. 2. When in this position and the trigger mechanism is adjusted for release firing as in Fig. 1, and the pin 61 (Fig. 7) is in the end 62 of the slot in sleeve 66. Thus the sleeve 60 i held against rotation and lever BI is in the full line position shown in Fig. 1. The lever 52 that carries the legs 13 is held against rearward movement by the projection 1| that is on lever 6|. In order to rotate the lever 61 rear- Wardly so as to move the lip 56 to the position seen in Fig. 5, it is first necessary to push end 66 of shaft 84 to the position indicated in Fig. 7 in which position the sleeve 60 can be rotated until pin 61 is in a position to move into end 63 of the slot upon further axial movement of shaft 64 by pushing-on the end 66. There are three separate moves to "be "made "in changing the safety lever 81 from a'locked position permitting the swinging of lever 52 as in Figs, 3, 4, to a locked position preventing the swinging of said lever, and vice versa. Thus it is'practically impossible for the safety lever to be accidentally moved, once .it is locked in oneposition or the other.

After the cooking piece 2 has been released, the block 15 will ride over the sear nose I! and will close the opening through which said nose is adapted to extend and will .hold the sear nose rdown-until the cocking piece is again-cocked. The rectangular form of said block effects this result, 'ri hich would not be possible with the conventional blocks, the lower side of which i inclined .upewardly andrearwardly from the lower end .ofthe ;sear notch.

vated by cooking of the cocking piece, and spring yieldably urges the sear nose upwardly at all times so as to cause cocking of the cooking piece upon retraction of the latter after each release thereof.

The pin 35 that regulates the characteristics of the trigger action, and which pin has the adjusting disk 84 exposed at one side of the stock for turning, might tend to accidentally rotate during firing of the firearm were it not for a locking element I85 (Fig. 9) carried by the element 86 that is adapted to be received in one of the three notches H16 that are formed in the bottom of the recess in plate 85 (Fig. 8). These recesses are respectively adjacent the mark 81, 88, 89.

The element 86 is supported on disk 8 for reciprocable movement longitudinally of the element 86, there being extensions Hi1 at the ends of the element that slidably fit in radially extending openings in a rim I08 that is adjacent the periphery of the disk 84. A spring wire I09 held at one of its ends in a groove in the periphery of disk 84 extends across one end of the extension on element 86 for yieldably urging the latter and the locking element I05 toward locked posi tion.

The sides of the element 86 are divergent in direction away from the end that carries the locking element "35, as seen in Fig. l, for grasping of the element 85 between the thumb and forefinger and to facilitate withdrawal of the element I05 from any one of the notches H36 in adjusting the disk.

This positive requirement for manipulating the element 86 as above described, in order to change the position of the cam section on shaft 35 absolutely precludes any accidental rotation of shaft 35, and yet an adjustment may be quickly effected.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a firearm having a cooking piece, a scar for holding said cocking piece cocked and movable to a position releasing said cocking piece, and a finger retractable trigger; means connecting said sear with said trigger for releasing said sear either at a point during retraction of said trigger or at a point during return of said trigger after its retraction and release thereof and releasably engaging said sear for restricting the release thereof from said cocking piece to one only of the aforesaid points as desired, said means including a spring and further including a member frictionally engaging said sear and movable a predetermined distance under frictional resistance to release said sear at one of said points and means "able to aposition releasing said cocking piece, and a finger retractable trigger; means connecting said sear with said "trigger EfOl. releasing, and

seareither at a'point :during retraction of said trigger or at a point during returnofzsaid trigger after itsretraction and release thereof and releasablyengaging saidsear for restricting the release thereof from said cocking piece to one onlyof the aforesaid points as desired, said means including a'spring and separate elements respectively movable :into andout of positions obstructing movement .of said sear to said position thereof.

3. In a firearmhaving a cooking piece, a sear for holding said cocking piece cocked and movable in one direction from a cocking piece holdingposition to a released position disengaged from said cocking piece and vice versa, and a trigger retractable under finger pressure from a normal forward position and spring urged back to said forward position upon release of such pressure; means connecting between said trigger and said sear for yieldably urging the latter in said one direction during retractive and return movement of said trigger beyond a predetermined distance from said forward position thereof, obstructions respectively arranged and adapted to separately hold said sear from movement in said one direction during part of said retractive movement only or during said retractive movement and part of said return movement of said trigger, means actuated by said trigger at a point in its travel beyond said distance for releasing said sear from said obstructions, and manually actuatable means for rendering one or the other of said obstruction inoperative for holding said sear during any movement of said trigger, whereby said sear may be released upon retractive movement of said trigger or upon said return movement thereof as desired. 4. In a firearm having a cooking piece, a sear for holding said cocking piece cooked and movable in one direction from a cocking piece holding position to a released position disengaged from said cocking piece and vice versa, and a trigger retractable under finger pressure from a normal forward position and spring urged back to said forward position upon release of such pressure, a spring connecting between said trigger and said sear for yieldably urging the latter in said one direction during retractive and return movement of said trigger adjacent the maximum retractive limit of said trigger, means for limiting the retractive movement of said trigger, separate sear holding means for separately and releasably securing said sear from releasing said cocking piece during part of said retractive movement only or during said retractive movement and part of said return movement of said trigger, trigger actuated means for releasing either of said separate sear holding means upon said retractive or said return movement of said trigger, and means for rendering one or the other of said sear holding means inoperable for holding said sear whereby the remaining operative sear holding means will be released upon either retractive movement or return movement of said trigger according to which of said sear holding means is operative.

5. A trigger mechanism for a firearm comprising. a cooking piece, a sear movable into and out of engagement with said cocking piece for releasably holding the latter cocked when in engagement therewith, a retractable trigger pivotally ported for movement into and outv of the path of movement of said sear arranged and adapted to obstruct said movement of said sear out of engagement with said cocking piece when said element is in said path, means on said trigger for engaging said element and for moving it out of said path upon retraction of said trigger, a spring connecting betweensaid sear and said trigger for yieldably urging said sear in a direction out of engagement with said cocking piece upon retraction of said trigger whereby said sear will be released When said trigger 50 moves said element out of said path of said sear, means supporting said element for bodily movement to a position removing it from engagement with said sear irrespective of its first mentioned movement, said means including a second element movable for releasably engaging said sear for holding it against release during said retraction of said trigger when said first mentioned element is moved 2,396,291 supported on said sear, an element pivotally supto said position and means actuated by said trigger upon return movement thereof after a retraction for releasing said second element from said sear whereby said sear will be free for movement out of engagement with said cockin piece under the influence of said spring.

6. A firing mechanism for a firearm that includes a cocking piece, a movable sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked, a retractable trigger supported for oscillatory movement, a rotary cam, separate means movable to and from difierent positions respectively obstructing release of said sear from holding said cocking piece, means connecting said separate means with said trigger for causing said movement of said separate means, means actuated by rotation of said cam for rendering one or the other ofsaid separate means inoperative for so obstructing said sear.

JOHN G. SEITZ. 

